Catering Lead

Quest Food Management Services; Northfield (CT); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Quest Food Management Services in Northfield, CT, seeks a catering operations leader to oversee all catered events, ensure safety and sanitation, and support staff development. You will guide planning, execution, and billing while upholding the company’s standards and client satisfaction across accounts.

The role requires at least three years in food service or catering with leadership experience, strong communication, and financial acumen.

Qualifications

• Strong communication and client management skills.
• Solid knowledge of financials and menu costing.
• High attention to detail ensuring events meet client expectations.
• Organizational skills and team leadership are imperative.

Responsibilities

• Oversee booking, planning, execution and billing of all catered events for the unit.
• Assist the Food Service Director in staff training and development, including leadership grooming and career paths.
• Lead catering staff and oversee safety and sanitation per account requirements.
• Maintain back-office tasks: mealtime entry, client invoicing and payroll considerations.
• Communicate with clients regularly to ensure satisfaction and resolve issues promptly.
• Adhere to SOPs and HACCP standards and meet corporate deadlines for invoices and payroll.
• Identify opportunities to refresh concepts and improve client engagement.

Skills

Communication

Client management

Financials

Attention to detail

Organization

Menu costing

Team leadership

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Our Promise

Balance - Quest fosters a fun, supportive environment that puts people first and strives for both culinary excellence and enduring relationships. Our flexible work opportunities encourage a healthy life balance for all of our valued team members.

Meaning - Quest believes that every aspect of what we do has significance, and therefore, our food is fresh and made from scratch, using high quality and responsibly sourced ingredients. We nourish our communities with wholesome meals and through our genuine and personal connections.

Recognition - Quest provides competitive compensation and benefits, and celebrates the fulfillment of our collective values at all levels of the organization. We support professional growth through training, development and access to highly visible leadership.

Position Summary

Responsible for overseeing catering, safety, and sanitation for Quest accounts, assisting the Food Service Director in training and development of the staff, and helping generate, schedule and execute all catering events. As a leader on the Quest team, you will lead by example and maintain a professional and reputable work environment by enforcing policy and best practices that brings out a positive employment brand.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Cascades the vision of Quest Food Management Services ensuring the Quest vision, values and founding principles are effectively communicated, understood and practiced.
• Demonstrates commitment to Quest vision, values and missions through actions on a daily basis.
• Responsible for booking, planning, execution and billing of all Catered events for unit.
• Assists the Food Service Director in training and development of the staff by indentifying and grooming next level leaders. As Quest continues to grow this will be achieved by team leadership, skill development, 30/60/90 reviews and career paths with timelines.
• Will lead a catering staff and oversee all safety and sanitation as it pertains to the account.
• Maintains the back office including mealtime entry, menu costing, client invoicing and ADP payroll.
• Adheres to all Corporate deadlines in regards to Mealtime, invoices, payroll, and EOM
• Continuously measures customer satisfaction levels through feedback, and resolve any issues immediately.
• Consistently maintains professional communication with the client through emails, phone calls, and personal interaction.
• Maintains Quest high standards with customer service and exceeding our client’s expectations.
• Consistently thrives to introduce new and exciting concepts to keep the catering fresh and exciting.
• Maintains all SOP standards
• Maintains all HACCP standards
• Performs other duties as required.

Job Requirements/Specifications

Education and Experience

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Required

• Minimum of three years of food service or catering experience and prior experience in a lead role
• Strong communication and client management skills
• Solid knowledge of financials
• Proficient in MS Office
• Responsible for meeting and maintaining state and local certification requirements
• High attention to detail assuring all events are executed exceeding client expectations
• Organizational skills, menu costing, financial knowledge and team leadership are imperative

Preferred

• Previous experience in the food service industry working in schools / higher education